Emplacement former



Aug. 14, 1962 w. H. ALMON EMPLACEMENT FORMER Filed April 13, 1959 INVENTOR. IVE/Zia; 6 fill/Jazz 3,648,9l l Patented Aug. 14, i962 hire 3,048,911 EMPLACEMENT FORMER William H, Almon, 27 Beechwood St Quincy, Mass. Filed Apr. 13, 1959, Ser. No. 806,081 1 Claim. (Cl. 25-418) This invention relates to emplacement formers and more particularly to formers adapted to fit over soil pipes and the like, which are to be embedded in concrete or similar material to reserve an opening in the embedding material surrounding the pipe, of such shape as to accommodate the fixture subsequently to be connected thereto.

in the past, the usefulness of emplacement formers has been limited by difficulties encountered in removing them from the embedding material, by the high cost of such formers which was not in harmony with leaving them permanently embedded at each installation as expendable items, by failure of the formers to provide emplacement openings which were properly located relative to the embedded structure and by failure of such formers satisfactorily to exclude extraneous materials from the opening so that it had to be cleared before a fixture could be accommodated therein.

Objects of this invention are to provide an emplacement former which can quickly be fitted over the pipe to be embedded for reserving an opening in the embedding material surrounding the structure, of such shape and disposition as to receive the fitting to be attached thereto; to provide a former which is adapted to fit over irregularly sized or oversized pipe structures; to provide a former which will not only reserve a space about the pipe but will also close the open end of the pipe, thereby to exclude extraneous material; to provide a former having an end portion for covering the open end of the pipe which is strong enough to prevent accidental breaking; to provide a former which is cheap enough so that it is expendable and hence may be left in place; to provide a former with a cover which may be broken away by sharp blow to uncover the end of the pipe and the opening surrounding it to permit the attachment to be made without removing the body from the opening; to provide a former which may, if desired, be removed prior to setting of the embedding material so that it can be reused; and to provide a former which can conveniently be handled with safety and without injury to the former.

As herein illustrated, the invention comprises a tubular casing having closed and open ends, means within the casing adapted to center the closed end of the casing on the open end of a pipe, an inturned flange at the open end of the casing, and elastic means on the inturned flange adapted to fit closely around the pipe, the elastic means serving to align the open end of the former on the pipe and to exclude extraneous material from the emplacement space provided by the former.

In the preferred embodiment of the emplacement former, herein disclosed, the former is made of stiifiy resilient, frangible, plastic material and the inturned flange is provided with an integral frusto-conical flange which tapers inwardly within the former casting, the frusto-conical flange being adapted to expand to fit over an irregularly sized or flanged-end pipe inserted within the former and being adapted to grip the body of the pipe for aligning the former thereon and for sealing concrete or other extraneous material from the former.

Preferably, the frusto-conical flange is axially slit at points about its circumference for facilitating expansion of the flange for receiving and gripping an irregularly sized pipe. Alternatively, the slits may be omitted and the frusto-conical flange may be axially scored or weakened at points about its circumference so that when the former is forced over an irregularly sized pipe, the flange will split along one or more of the score lines, where necessary, for expansion of the flange for receiving and gripping said pipe.

To facilitate removal of the former for reuse from the embedding material, prior to setting of the latter, the body of the casing is tapered from its upper closed end toward its open lower end. Also, the casing wall is preferably extended beyond the upper closed end so that minor errors in the relative location of the surface level of the concrete, in which the former is embedded, will not result in locking of the former in the concrete.

Other objects, advantages and details of construction will appear in the following description which refers to the drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a diametrical section of the former of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial bottom view of the former;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged partial sectional view along line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged partial sectional view similar to H6. 3, showing an alternative embodiment of the former of this invention;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged partial sectional view similar to FIG. 1, showing another alternative embodiment of the former of this invention; and

FIG. 6 is a side elevation, partially in section, showing the former installed.

Referring to the drawing, the emplacement former 10 is shown in FIG. 1 to be molded in two sections, 12 and 14, which are bonded or cemented together, as at 16, to form an integral unit. The former is molded of a plastic material, preferably of a thermoplastic material such as cellulose acetate butyrate, which will be strong enough to withstand the loads or forces to which the former will be subjected during use, which will be stiflly resilient for purposes to be explained below, and which can be readily broken when desired for facilitating removal of the former after use.

The emplacement former, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, is adapted to be fitted over a pipe 18, which is to be embedded in concrete or other similar material 20, so that, when the concrete is poured around the pipe, the former will reserve a fitting emplacement space 22 in the concrete for the accommodation of a fixture, not shown, subsequently to be connected to the pipe. As shown in FIG. 6, the pipe 18 can be a closet bend, for example, which is part of the plumbing 24 roughed-in in a building of which only the temporary flooring 26 is shown,

The casing section 12 of the former comprises a slightly tapering, tubular, casing wall 28 which is of a size determining the size of the fitting emplacement to be provided thereby; an inturned flange 34 at the smaller diameter end of the casing which defines an aperture 32 of slightly larger diameter than that of the pipe 18 to be inserted within the former; and an upstanding frusto-conical flange 34 which is integral with the inturned flange 30 and which tapers inwardly within the casing from the edge of the inturned flange aperture to a diameter slightly smaller than the diameter of the pipe 18. Since the plastic material of which the former is constructed is stiffly resilient. the frusto-conical flange is adapted to expand to fit over the pipe 18, or even over the bead flange 18a on the pipe, and to grip the body of the pipe for aligning the former thereon and for forming a seal between the former and pipe to exclude concrete and other extraneous material from within the former casing.

The frusto-conical flange is preferably provided with a plurality of axially disposed slits 3636 as shown in FIG. 3, which are spaced circumferentially about the flange. By this construction, the frusto-conical flange is adapted to expand to a substantial degree or to expand irregularly or out-of-round, as required, for fitting an irregularly sized or over-sized pipe 18, while providing substantial alignment of the former on the pipe and while effectively sealing extraneous materials from Within the casing. It has been found that in an emplacement former designed for application on a 4.5 inch pipe, a frusto-conical flange inch high, having a base angle of the order of 75 degrees, and having approximately eight slits equally spaced about its circumeference is expandable to accommodate a pipe oversized as much as .25 inch while providing effective former alignment and sealing.

In an alternative embodiment of this invention, as shown in FIG. 4, the slits in the frusto-conical flange 34 may be omitted, and the frusto-conical flange can be axially scored or weakened at points 38-38 about its circumference. By this construction, when the former is forced over the pipe 18, the flange will split along the score lines where necessary in expanding for receiving and gripping the pipe. Preferably, the inturned flange is provided with an integral arrester ring 40 exteriorly of the casing at the edge of the aperture 3 2, for limiting splitting of the former along the slits 3636, or along the scoring 3 8-38 when the former is forced over a pipe so that the flange 34 will not rupture completely with a loss of the seal about the pipe.

In an alternative embodiment of this invention, as shown in FIG. 5, a gasket 42 is cemented to the inner surface of the frusto-conical flange 34, alone or in conjunction with flange slits 3636 or flange scoring 38-38, for further improving the flange expansion, aligning and sealing characteristics.

The closure section 14 of the former comprises a closure plate 44 which prevents entry of extraneous material into the pipe 18, or into the former casing; ribs 46-46 which brace the closure plate; and an upstanding flange 48 which serves as an extension of the casing wall 28. The closure section 14 is also provided with a coaxial annular flange 50, by means of which the closure section is bonded or cemented to the casing section 12. Preferably, the closure section is provided with a short annular flange 52 which is coaxial with the frusto-conical flange 34 and with the inturned flange aperture 32, which depends within the casing section 12 in telescoping relation thereto, and which is adapted to loosely receive the pipe 18 therein. It is contemplated that the former will be aligned on the pipe 18 by the gripping action of the frusto-conical flange 34, as above described; however, provision of the depending flange 52 also centers the closed end of the former on the pipe and thereby prevents forcible disalignment of the former and pipe.

The ribs 4646 provide sufficient strength so that the closure will bear the weight of a person accidentally stepping on it without breaking and the weight of boards and the like which may accidentally be dropped on it. Since the ribs extend only over the depending flange 52, however, the closure can easily be cut away adjacent the flange 52, or the flange 48, with a sharp or heated tool, or may be smashed out by a sharp blow with a hammer to uncover the end of the pipe and the space surrounding the pipe. The wall or body of the former within the opening may be left therein as a liner, if desired, or removed by prying it away from the concrete. If the former is to be left for any length of time before the connections are to be made, it may be further reinforced by filling the recess bounded by the flange 48 with cement. This will discourage malicious destruction of the cover and yet may be broken out by a heavy blow since the plastic beneath the cement can be fractured by a blow.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the casing wall 28 is exteriorly marked, as by the projection 54, in alignment with one of the slits 36 or of the score lines 38 on the frusto-conical flange 34 so that when the former is forced over the pipe 18, the marked or identified slit or score line can conveniently be aligned with the most prominent irregularity of the pipe such as the pipe seam, thereby facilitating expansion of the flange 34.

The former may, of course, be used on wall outlets to prevent tile and cement from coming into contact with the nipple and to reserve sufhcient space around the outlet so that a coupling can be attached after the wall is completed.

The tapered surface of the former makes its possible to remove it from the concrete prior to complete setting up of the latter so that it may be recovered for reuse. To facilitate removal a wrenching tool may be engaged with the ribs 46-46 so as to twist it back and forth to free it from the partially hardened cement.

The upstanding flange 48 not only provides a recess for a reinforcing layer of cement but also prevents carelessly poured concrete from flowing over the upper edge of the closure which would interfere with removing the former after hardening of the cement except by use of tools to chip the cement away.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only and that this invention includes all modifications and equivalents which fall within the scope of the appended claim.

This application is a continuation-inpart of my copending application Serial No. 735,904, filed May 16, 1958, and now abandoned.

I claim:

An emplacement former comprising a plastic tubular casing having an end wall, said casing tapering inwardly from said end wall, a first circular flange extending from the end wall toward the smaller end of the tubular casing and spaced inwardly of said casing and increasing in diameter outwardly from the end wall and adapted to receive the end of a pipe inserted within the former, a second circular flange integral with the smaller end of the casing and being spaced interiorly therefrom and decreasing in diameter toward the end wall, said second circular flange including means thereon permitting the expansion thereof to fit the wall of a pipe insertable within the former whereby the first and second flanges will align the former on a pipe and the scond flange will effect a seal between the former and the pipe, said end wall having radially disposed reinforcing ribs at its outer side, the extremities of which terminate substantially on a projection of the first flange on the outer side of the wall, leaving the end wall outwardly of said projections unreinforced.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,905,856 Haase et a1 Apr. 25, 1933 1,945,707 Sharp Feb. 6, 1934 2,202,147 Gerriets May 28, 1940 2,476,324 Reich July 19, 1949 2,508,044 Seddon May 16, 1950 2,527,874 Bradley Oct. 31, 1950 2,684,789 Marchant July 27, 1954 2,707,387 Zinn May 3, 1955 2,728,126 Whitlock Dec. 27, 1955 2,737,693 Robbins Mar. 13, 1956 2,901,904 Wey Sept. 1, 1959 2,914,832 Lee Dec. 1, 1959 

